World at War
by Crimson Roses Turned Black
Summary: Shadow has been enslaved for ten years and is on the run. The first thing on his list is to find his friends and the other cheery mobians Rouge refers to as "buddies". Can he find everyone and bring the world back to it's original state? Read the story to find out. P.S. this story is not cannon. ;)
1. Chapter 1

Ten. Ten years in darkness. Ten minutes an hour of rest. Ten total others. Ten lethal wounds. Ten simple rules. Never complain, never escape, never talk, never run, never disobey, never rebel, never be dominant, never show compassion for experiments, never sympathize with experiments and never ask questions. All ten of which, I intend to break.

My name is Shadow the Hedgehog and for too long I have rotted with my fellow "cell-mates". So now, I break free and set things right again, the way things used to be...

Ten Years Ago

"How long does it take to go to the store and buy food?" I sat in a surprisingly comfortable chair composed of velvet fabric, dark oak legs and a matching pillow with the same deep purple color.

"APPROXIMATELY FIFTEEN TO TWENTY-FIVE MINUTES FOR CLOSE STORES." My robotic teammate, Omega, answered in his monotone voice.

"It was a rhetorical question, Omega." The oversized destruction machine simply analyzed those spoken words and slightly bowed with understanding. Earlier this same day, my other teammate, Rouge the Bat, went out to "fetch something good from the local grocery" as she had said. That was an hour ago, I started to worry for her well being. Nothing special I mean I worry for Omega just as well but, Rouge is only a bat. Yes a very capable bat with superb hearing, sight, flight, instincts and fighting abilities (I would know), but she is still mortal. And with her history, anything could happen. For all I know, the apocalypse could start because of her.

Suddenly a loud explosion sounded through the normally quiet atmosphere.

 _What did she do this time?_

Omega and I quickly burst through Rouge's front door to see something worse than that Faker's annoying voice for once. The sky was red with black clouds, gunshots blared from further down the road, corpses of innocent mobians littered the streets. What made this situation worse was the shouting mobians searching for their lost ones, and Shadow was one of them.

"Rouge! Rouge where are you!? Rouge this isn't funny!"

Frantically he searched the entire city using his speed to do so in records time. Still no sign of the white haired bat. He felt like a part of him was stripped from his exhausted body and taken with her. He knew one thing though, if she wasn't here and her body didn't lye in front of him, she was still alive.

While thinking this situation over and plotting his next move, he was oblivious to the eight figures approaching him. And the fact they were armed. The last thing he remembers is the desperate cry of a female shouting his name...

Present

Here he was, ten years later, in a cell waiting to be taken for more unnecessary torture. Sickening how the Ultimate Life Form was trapped like a caged bird. Yet here he is.

The creaking of a rusted door filled the deadly silent room. No light was admitted, only the tapping of heavy shoes. Suddenly, my door was opened. A gloved hand reached out and squeezed the quills on my head to drag me to a place worse than eternal darkness. It was now or never.

Without warning, I tackled the "retriever" to the cold metallic ground. They fought back but even with ten years of being treated like carp, I was unstoppable. Eventually the punches stopped and they barely heaved their chest up and down.

Using my almost unmatched speed, I bolted for an exit. Having the entire building cloaked in darkness was a good idea on their part. Whoever the leader of this inhumane society is, was a genious. If Eggman had an IQ of 300, this guy had an IQ of 3,000. I was looking forward to meeting him face to face. Before we meet face to fist of course.

First things first, I had to find everyone. Even if the world is at war with itself.

 _ **Author's Note**_

 _ **Hey guys new story idea. It came to me while I was watching a play through of the game Portals. No it is not the same story but it is very very very loosely based off of the concept. The story is romantic, adventurous, dystopian, si-fiy, and potentially long so sit tight and enjoy the read. Reviews of all kinds welcome.**_


	2. A Broken Hero

**_Hello again. This is chapter two of World at War and I hope you enjoy it. I received a lot of attention from the first chapter so I will probably update often. Then again life gets in the way sometimes, just keep reading and reviewing and whatever else you do and I will keep writing._**

Chapter Two: A Broken Hero

Adrenaline pumped fiercely through my body as I raced to find any exit. I haven't moved this fast in ten years. Even with the loss of experience, I swiftly maneuver through the pitch-black maze. The darkness floods the whole base to where I can hardly see three feet in front of me. Mainly using hearing and instincts, I sprint through the fortress of darkness.

The sound of a groan forces me to stop abruptly. Following the deep cry of pain, my feet lead me to a room just as eerie as the rest. I use my hands to feel around. The sensation is abnormal for my white gloves are torn in places and tearing in others. Mentally sighing, I continue my search.

Suddenly, I find a structure other than the walls. _A cage._

A weak voice carries across the nearly abandoned room.

"Leave me alone. I can't take anymore torture. What do you want from me?"

That voice, that usually smooth-talking, cheery, egotistical voice was all too familiar.

"No way, Faker is that you?"

"Shadow? Shadow the Hedgehog? How'd you end up in here?"

"I could ask you the same blue hedgehog." Hearing nothing come from his mouth I assumed it was a touchy subject. Than an idea struck me, "How does getting out of that cage sound?"

"Shadow, I have no more fight left in me. These vile people have sucked all of it out of me. I'd be of no use in an escape, only extra weight. Leave me here."

Was this the same hedgehog he knew? The happy-go-lucky, too cheery for his own good speedster? If they can brake him, they can brake anyone. Well, not _everyone._

"I'm getting you out if I have to drag you myself, Faker. People need you, they need their blue blur to save them."

"I'm not the hero I was ten years ago."

That did it. Not only was his body not in the best state, but his mind was corrupted by the thought he was useless. Before me lay the once world renowned hero, shattered in a million pieces. His spirit had left him long ago and his ego shrank to the size of Knuckles' intellect. The hero the world needed, lye beaten and bruised in a rusted cage behind enemy lines... he was broken.

The loud wails of alarms broke through the silence. We both looked around to see red lights brightening the once pitch black room. The light was dim, but at least we could see every corner of the room. Sonic eyed me with his new found sight. I was beaten pretty bad myself, if you compared our injuries we were about equal in abuse. Realization hit me like a brick wall.

"They know I'm escaping. It's now or never Faker."

He reluctantly nodded his head in exception. With the remaining strength I had, I forced the door to pull open. He was free from the cage, but not the bonds that kept him from smiling. Usually he would have smirked or run around or said something cocky, he just sat there starring where the once bar door was hinged. The sounds of heavy boots filled my ears and I knew they were coming. Not wanting to get caught, I trapped him and yanked him out. My mind raced with scenarios of how to finish escaping. Turning the lights on was a big mistake, now I could see.

Without wasting anymore time, I bolted out of the room dragging Sonic behind me. No one was in view, only the thundering stomps of feet signified others present. Still running through the corridors, I realized Sonic just stayed limp in my tightened grip. He really had changed.

Because my thoughts distracted me, I ran strait into a wall.

"Hey Shadow, watch out for walls." Still had his sarcasm. I turned my head to glare at him only to look dumbfounded by the depressed look in his eyes. He wasn't making his signature cocky grin, he wasn't even looking at me.

I chose to deal with his attitude later and break out now. Returning my gaze forward, I came face to face with a door. Above it was a sign that said, 'EXIT'.

Sometimes, villains can be so stupid.

I rose back to my feet, with Sonic in my grasp, and pulled it open. Sure enough, there was the outside world. The sky was just as I remember, the day I lost _her._ The ground was covered with gray cement and there were no signs of plant life anywhere. The world appeared just as damaged as the emotionless blue lump of quills at my feet. This was worse than I thought.

The over powering sound of feet thumping closer made me regain my composure and pick up Sonic. Not a second later, we fled the base. I ran until the blaring alarms were as quiet as a whisper.

I decided to rest for a little, not moving for ten years makes running a pain. Gently, I layed Sonic down. Here we were in the middle of who knows where, with a river as our only source of water and no shelter. Wait... river? My feet spun me around as I analyzed my surroundings. Tall trees, green bushes, soft healthy grass, a decent sized river filled with clean water. The tree tops covered any views of the sky, it looked like it did ten years ago. As if nothing ever happened. For tonight, we stayed in the comfort of hope, hope that not everything was beyond repair. Hope that everything we cherished was still recoverable.

Hope that the world wasn't without it.

 ** _Author's Note_**

 ** _Chapter two is finally done, yay. Throughout the story more and more characters will pop up and none of them were unaffected by the crises. I thought it would be interesting to have Sonic's personality totally crushed and have to be forced to even stand up. Each character changing because of their situation is suppose to imply the seriousness of it._**

 ** _And before I forget, my friend and I are working on a crossover between Sonic the Hedgehog and The Maze Runner. If you are interested, leave a comment in your review about what you think it will be like and what you want to see. Until then, keep reading._**


	3. Survival

_**Hello readers, hope you've enjoyed the previous two chapters. If you have any guesses or inferences about the story, I would love to hear them. Don't leave me in the dark that's just cruel. And I will try to update every weekend on my profile, whether it is World at War or not, so check up on me every now and then. Now, with out further a due, chapter three; Survival.**_

Soft. The ground is so soft against me sore muscles. Everything is quiet too. So quiet I can here Sonic's subtle snoring ten feet from me. Sonic. God, it was like his entire demeanor was tinted and snapped in half. How on Mobius am I gonna fix him? Well, better start now.

Lazily I elevate my upper body to a sitting position. My crimson eyes are still adjusting to the newly discovered light. Once I feel I can move efficiently, I rise to my feet. The blue (in more ways than one) hedgehog and I had fallen asleep in a lush oasis. The sound of the river rushing past is the only sound being produced.

Slowly by surely, me feet stumble over to the resting speedster. His snoring had ceased signifying his awakening. Though awake, he probably didn't see a reason to move.

"Morning Faker." Steadily I continue my waltz towards him till I descend down to his side. He says nothing. I could hold a better conversation with Omega than him. _Omega._ No, it is pointless to dwell on him right now. I will find him soon along with-

"Hey." Sonic turns his head like a sloth and opens his eyes even slower. What the hell happened to him? Why is he in such a state of depression? Surely abuse alone couldn't do that to him, could it? These questions demanded answers as they raced through my mind.

"So, how long did it take _them_ to get the fastest thing alive?" Another round of silence. He can deny it all he wants, he has to talk sometime.

"Would it be easier if I shared first, Faker? You seem too chicken."

He simply nods his head, ignoring my insult. Right now, it's my turn to be blue.

"Fine, I'll go first." I turn my head so I stare strait at the rushing crystal waters. "Omega and I were waiting for Rouge to return with the needed supplies for dinner. She had been out for an hour doing something that should have taken twenty minutes at the most. Yeah, I'll admit I was getting pretty worried. She was my friend of course I was. That and she paid for everything. I decided that she had somehow managed to get into trouble so I went outside to look for her. What I saw was disastrous. Red sky, dead bodies, screams of innocent people dying. Than I remembered Rouge. I went racing through the streets but I never found her. That last thing I remember was someone calling my name before I blacked out. When I regained consciousness, I was in a cage in a pitch-black room."

By now Sonic had adjusted himself to the same position I was in. We sat there listening to branches sway and the river run. He finally turned to me with sympathy in his lime eyes.

"That sucks, man. I'm sorry for your suffrage."

"It's not your fault, Faker, you had nothing to do with this take over."

He turned alway so I couldn't see his face. I could hear the heartbreak in his voice.

"I had everything to do with it. It stared as a routine attack from Eggman..."

Ten Years Ago

 _"Come on Egghead, hit me with all you got!"_

 _"Alright you blue rat! Prepare to be beaten by my new invention, The Destroyer!"_

 _A large red and black robot rose from a giant trap door in the enormous, empty room. It stood over 100ft tall with feet four times as big as the hedgehog at it's feet and hands a little smaller. Above that hands were what appeared to be laser beam shooters. His chest seemed to be able to open on the left side. That was most likely the weak point. It's eyes though. They weren't the usual blood red, no. These eyes were a poisonous bright green._

 _"Ho ho hooo. You won't win this time hedgehog!"_

 _"Really Egghead. Willing to bet on it?"_

 _The signature smirk of the egotistical hedgehog was ever present on his tan muzzle. Without waiting for a response, he lept towards the chest of the monstrous robot. Only to be met with an electric shock when he was ten feet from it._

 _"Silly me. Did I forget to tell you about the force-field surrounding him? Oops."_

 _Eggman laughed at his own humor. Leaving the challenged hedgehog to figure a way to defeat the metallic monster before him. However, an alarm sounded through the base._

 _"Intuder alert. Intuder alert. Base has been entered. Unauthorized personal has entered the base. All security systems active."_

 _That played on loop with a feminine voice. Enraged by the intrusion of his base during a battle, Eggman pulled up security footage to see a young orange fox running through the halls._

 _"Why that no good buddy of yours is invading my new base."_

 _"Tails?"_

 _Both were shocked by the new arrival. Neither expected him to show up (especially sense Sonic said not to). However they new the playing field had changed with his addition. It made the fight more interesting._

 _Suddenly said game changer barged into the room with multiple little robots to distract Eggman. While he was kept busy, the two "brothers" conversed._

 _"I told you to stay put."_

 _"I'm sorry Sonic but I can't let you go it alone. I'm here to help."_

 _Seeing that it was too late to get his favorite two tailed companion out, Sonic explained the situation._

 _"Alright, fine. You want to help? Disable the force-field protecting the robot and let me do the rest. I'll keep Eggbreath's attention away from you while you do that, got it?"_

 _"Got it Sonic!"_

 _"Stay safe little buddy."_

 _"Can do."_

 _With their signature thumbs-up, they parted ways. The younger of the two sprinted to the control panel at the center of the back wall. The older strutted to be in front of the gigantic man-made beast._

 _"Hey Bolts-for-Brains, down here!"_

 _Said robot turned his attention from his struggling creator to his creator's enemy._

 _"TARGET LOCKED. ENITIATING ATTACK NOW."_

 _His hands balled into fits and rotated until they pulled back into his wrists. The interiors of canons now taking their place. Beams of red fired where the blue blur once stood. Now, he was perched on the ceiling watching the whole ordeal._

 _His bright green irises turned their gaze to Tails who was hard at work disabling the shield electricity. The double tailed inventor gleaned when he had complete his task. He looked Sonic right in the eyes and gave the thumbs-up they shared so many times._

 _Before Sonic could even blink, the robot was attacked._

 _All eyes were on a hooded figure destroying the once untouchable machine. When there was nothing but scrap metal left, the unidentified figure turned to face the three organic matters in the room._

 _"I'm sorry, was I interrupting something." The voice was male and sounded like venom from a snake. "My apologies, Dr. Robotnik, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Miles Prower. I assure you that I have no grudges against you."_

 _"How dare you come in here and destroy my hard work. I'm gonna-" Snap. He never finished that sentence. Before he spoke anymore, the mysterious male had appeared before him to silence him, permanently._

 _"However, you should not find me weak or gullible." He starred with disdain at the corpse rotting at his feet. Soon he turned his gaze towards Tails who had his jaw dropped at the murder of Eggman. Sonic, who was still resting on the ceiling, jumped down to Tails' side. His eyes deadly serious._

 _"Not a step closer buddy."_

 _"I didn't plan on harming you, but if you get in the way of what I want, I will kill you."_

 _Tails, who regained his composure, widened his eyes. "Why do you want me?"_

 _"Why else? For that big brain of yours. I could use a fox with your intelligence."_

 _Sonic now stepped in front of Tails to protect him._

 _"You'll have to go through me first."_

 _"You can stay here and protect one fox, or you can leave and save the world, hedgehog."_

 _"Eggman is dead. What is there to protect it from?"_

 _"Me."_

 _With a loud explosion, the ground shook. The two heros were now on there backs. A shock of electricity erupted through their bodies. They cried out in agony but no one would be there to help them._

 _Sonic's vision blurred and when it finally went back into focus, the hooded maniac was running away with an unconscious Tails in his grasp._

 _Rushing to his feet, the speed demon bolted for the door. When he opened it, he saw a blood red sky with black clouds. Fire burned the wilderness to ash and the grass was crisp under the hedgehog's weight. Tails was nowhere to be found._ _Cries from a nearby town littered the air. Masked men jumped him and injected him with an clear liquid that made him loose consciousness._

 _He awoke to darkness. He couldn't save them, the explosion had gone off because of his actions. He couldn't have acted calmer to negotiate with the mystery man. He was the reason modians were dead. He wasn't fast_

Present

We sat in silence for a while. Eggman dead and Tails kidnapped? Who was that guy anyways? For once, Sonic broke the silence.

"I got a visit from him once. I asked Why he did what he did. He said one word than walked out. Do you know what his excuse was?"

His composure was now fueled by rage as he relived the tragedy.

"What did he say, Sonic?" He spit out the world as if it was infectious to him.

"Survival."

 _ **Author's Note:**_

 _ **Yes, chapter three done! Now we know what happened with Sonic. And yes, each characters experience at the time of the attack will be explained in the story. Who do you think should be found next, I would love to know. Please leave a review on how you think the story is so far you know likes and dislikes. It would help make the story a more enjoyable read. Until next time people, bye.**_


	4. Remember Me?

_**Welcome back to World at War. Sorry for the super long wait but life sucks. I wasn't totally dead during this time. If any of you bothered to look at my profile, I posted a new story. It's a crossover I'm working on with a friend of mine. Anyways, enough about why I didn't write and on with the story.**_

Chapter 4: Remember Me?

 _Survival_. What did that mean? Survival from what? He, whoever _he_ is, destroyed that world. Who in their right mind kills what it needs to live to survive. There it is! _In their right mind._ Not only are we up againstan empowered villain, we're up against an insane one.

By now it's around midday. After Sonic's story we just sat in silence listening to the stream run. Said blue annoyance had taken one of his torn-gloved hands, and gingerly guided his fingers in the water. His fingers danced with the crystal liquid until he submerged his other fingers. Then both hands, down his arms until his nose dipped in the surface of the creek.

This was odd to do if you were terrified by water. I pondered whether or not to ask him about it for quite some time. Then, as if he had awoken from unconsciousness, he gasped for air. His whole body retreated from the running water and he stumbled back, eyes wide in shock and pure fear. Two emotions hardly ever present in the once very egotistical hedgehog.

"W-we sh-shouldn't s-s-s-stay he-here any-ma-more." He stuttered. Was he? Yes, he was shaking with horror and trying to escape. Someone needs to fix him, soon.

"Your right. They probably got word out of our escape and are searching for us. We need to find a better hiding spot before we do anything else." Even when I agreed with him, he shivered. Tired of his display of fear, I pick him up and sling him over my shoulder. Our quills become a tangled mess because they have been lacking care for ten years. My wounds have started their heeling process and it won't be long before I am once again spotless. As for the trembling heep of quills on my shoulder I have no idea when he will be ready to run.

My skates are defaulted and no longer boost my speed so this is purely me. Although common belief is that my shoes do all the work when I run, that's not true. I can run just as fast as Faker without my skates.

Without a moment of hesitation, I run to the edge of the oasis. From behind the bushes of lush green leaves I see the burnt plants, the crusty dirt, the black clouds and that blood red sky. Why does the green stop right here? Why doesn't the death creep it's way into the patch of life behind me?

I dash to the other side and find the same thing. How peculiar? I have so many questions and I am determined to find answers.

"Are we going or not? If we are put me far away from the *shivers* water."

Restless as always. With no warning, I sprint out of last night's campgrounds and into the unknown.

Having extra weight didn't help a whole lot but not even I want to be alone in a world like this. Even if the company is Sonic.

Hours past and I'm still running in this wasteland. I haven't even spotted any forts or whatever they kept Sonic and I in. All I can see is destruction.

"And I though my demeanor was depressing."

"Speak for yourself, Shadow. This depicts me perfectly."

Is this gonna be all our conversations, I mean seriously. I thought _he_ would try making _me_ talk.

"Do you think we might find anyone we know Sonic?"

"Maybe. What if they were in the same building we were and we just left them there to be punished for my mistake even longer and-"

"That does it!" I take the sad excuse of a hero and flip him off my should to the ground _then_ stop running. As he rolls on the ground in pain, I adjust myself over him so my furious eyes burn holes through his.

"I have had enough of you bickering and beginning about how it's your fault! News flash Sonic! You didn't push the button or pull the switch to blow up the world!"

"No... but I-"

"No, shut up! You did all you could! You fought Eggman, you made the plan, you met the guy, you protected her!"

Sonic's face shifted from terror to confusion. He had no idea what was going on. I had fallen to my rear next to him and lowered my voice.

"You searched and searched, you couldn't find her, you couldn't defend yourself, you couldn't prevent it, you couldn't save her, you couldn't do anything, you couldn't, you just couldn't."

By now, my ears had flattened and my eyes were shut. Memories of that horrid day ten years ago flashed back in one painful array of my failure. I heard Sonic sit up.

"You losing Rouge was all my fault man, I'm sorry."

That reignited my fuse of anger.

"It was not you! It was me! I failed in protecting her and all those people who died!"

Out of pure rage I once again stood and started pacing next to him.

"Not everything that happens is because of you! Mobius does not revolve around Sonic! This isn't Sonicland, this is a cold dead Mobius because some idiot thinks he can run the world! You know what! Let's ask around!"

"No Shadow, calm down I-"

"Hey dead tree number 5, do you blame Sonic for the world exploding!? No? Well that makes two of us!"

"Hey look I know I'm a little down but-"

"Dead grass blade number 375! Do _you_ blame Sonic!? Oh, well me and dead tree number 5 agree!"

Sonic stood up and stomped over to me. His eyes had a fire that haven't seen the light of day, well whatever this is, for ten years. I got him.

"You don't have to be so outrageous about this Shadow!"

"Oh look, it can speak!"

"I've had it with this! Just shut up! I'm a big enough person to except the blame!"

"Blame that's not yours! Hey! If there is anyone out there who blames Sonic, say _I_!"

From behind the dead branches and bushes, a group of four Mobians jumped out.

"Well... this certainly wasn't the response I was expecting."

A fifth figure appeared. A light pink ribbon was tied across their forehead above the midnight colored fabric on their head. Another cloth covered the mouth and neck while the rest of their body was concealed by the same colored body suit. A skirt that appeared to have crisscrossed black ribbon on it went just above her knees and her suit acted like leggings. Boots that went half way up her shins had the same light pink colored ribbon on the outer sides.

After taking another look around, I noticed two others with similar styled attire in light purple and a rusted orange. The remaining two didn't wear skirts but had ribbon tied on the tips of their gloves and shoes, one a tealish color the other a grass green. Those two wore black jackets and simi-tight pants. The pink accented one spoke first.

"I was wondering when you two would show up." Her voice seemed familiar. I couldn't quite place it, but Sonic did for me.

"Amy?" She pulled down the cloth that covered her mouth. It was in fact the rose colored hedgehog.

"Hiya Sonic. How has the last ten years been without me?"

The others revealed themselves as well. Blaze and Sliver were to our left and to our right was... Scourge and Fiona?

"When did you two join the good side?"

Scourge snickered and answered with, "roughly ten years ago, when did you?" He chuckled some more at his "joke" and earned a 'nice one babe' from the vixen now draping her arms around him.

While those two were busy, Amy once again addressed us.

"They were one of the first to sign up for my resistance."

"Resistance?" I asked.

"Yours?" Sonic inquired.

Blaze stepped into our line of vision and explained it all.

"Yes, Amy rallied a group of survivors that were willing to fight for Mobius. We were the first five. The first two years was just us but when word got out, more and more mobians joined our cause. There is a total of thirty-four of us now, not counting the refugees."

"One question guys. I'm sure Shadow would like to know this as well, where on Mobius do you guys hide from _him?_

"Well Sonic if you must know, we take shelter in an abandoned base. For the last eight years, that's been home. Before it was abandoned we hung out in the piping of a Slave City."

That caught my attention. "Slave City?"

Silver walked over and wrapped his left arm around Blaze's shoulder and explained. "It's not really a city per say, but it looks like one. It houses thousands of imprisoned Mobians who have to obey what the Shade Crawlers say. Before you ask, Shade Crawlers are the hooded figures that roam freely and force anyone and everyone to obey their commands. They come strait from the Fortress, the place _he_ stays."

"Okay." Was all I said. Sonic was still wrapping his head around Silver's arm on Blaze.

"Oh, and Blaze and I are married. We decided that we may not make it through this alive so why wait? When we came here from our time, the bombs had just stopped going off and we ran into Amy. When we acquired a priest as a refugee, we had already been a couple for three years. So we thought why not."

Sonic, who had been starring wide eyed at the two finally found his words. "Wow." Great words huh.

"Let's head back to base guys. The others might get worried. Come on Scourge and Fiona, we are taking them back to HQ."

"Yes ma'am." They stated in unison. In the blink of an eye, they surrounded us. Blaze and Fiona to our left and the boys to our right. Amy was right in front of us with her back turned. Everyone faced forward and waited. For what I did not know.

"You might like this Shadow. We stole some technology from that idiot and now look what we can do." She pulled her wrist to her face and started messing with a contraption I failed to notice earlier. "Here we go!" With force, she slammed her hand on top of her wrist device and we were engulfed in swirling green lights.

They shined brighter and brighter until the turned a blinding white. The others protected their eyes with their cloths but Sonic and I had to use our arms. In an instant, we vanished.

 _ **Yay! Done with chapter four. Hopefully, hopefully I will update more often but you never know. Please keep reading and reviews are nice. I like to know what your inferences are and what you think of the story. If you don't like the couple's in this story, sorry, pretend they're someone else. And if you see type-ohs, I'm only human people. Keep doing what you guys are doing and cross your fingers I can update more. Until next time readers; thank you.**_


	5. Base sweet Base

_**Hello, special thanks to all of you who favorite, follow and review! As for the rest of you, *sighs and shakes head* shame. Anyway chapter five! Yeah it's posted the following day of chapter four. I said I'd update more often didn't I? I'm trying to make up for being gone so long. Without further a due..**_

Chapter 5: Base sweet Base

When the light cleared, we stood in what would have been a small room if not for the gaping hole in the wall. Singe marks scarred the crumbling walls, the floors were littered with ashes and shattered glass. Our feet held us in a gigantic glass tube with a massive, jagged hole right in front of Amy.

Said pink hedgehog story through the hole and was quickly followed by the four mobians previously at Sonic and my sides. While the others left the room, Amy turned to get us out.

"Aren't you boys coming? I'd love to show you around." She smiled a genuine smile and didn't once wink at Sonic. I know it's been ten years but last time I checked, Amy stocked the neck out of Sonic. It's quite interesting to see her, well... uninterested.

Her previous object of desire finally came out of his self-induced coma to speak.

"Sure Ames."

"If you're gonna call me that, I'm gonna call you Faker. Around here it's ma'am or Ms. Rose or madam. Nothing else. Casualness has no place in a war." Her eyes were glazed over with seriousness. She was all businesses now and her usual energetic spark had fled.

Sonic only nodded in agreement. Even though he had some friends back, his nature was still one of depression. He stumbled out of the enclosed platform and stood next to Amy with his head hung low. I remained still.

"Come on Shadow, let me give you guys the grand tour."

"Before I go out there, answer me this." She leaned forward and stiffened her ears to hear better. "How many people out there are affected by the takeover?"

Her demeanor changed to match Sonic's. Before she spoke, she sighed. "You don't want me to answer that."

Silence hung in the air as she showed her sympathy to those beyond the broken walls, I created images of what might be beyond those walls and Sonic, well he stared at the floor thinking about _something._

When I joined them, Amy once again went into professional mode and escorted us out the dismal room.

The next room had a bunch of lockers in it. Each one had labels with name tags that were individually done by the owner of the locker. Everything else about them was identical. I counted them by grouping them in groups of six, a trick I obtained from working with Rouge and Omega, and there was a total of thirty-four the same number of volunteers Blaze had said earlier.

"These lockers are where we keep our mission uniforms. Different suit for each type of mission. We change, leave whatever clothes we wore that day, go on the mission, come back, and change back into normal clothes."

"What if you don't come back?"

"Well, Sonic, I don't know. It hasn't happened before and hopefully never will. Let's move on."

We strode through the lengthy hall of lockers and onto a balcony that wrapped around a large room.

"Many rooms collapsed and once we cleared the debris, a giant room was made. That being the space below us that houses all the refugees that need a place safe from _him._ Those that fight have rooms up hear so they have space for equipment and easy access to training and briefing rooms. The rail was added courtesy of Charmy."

"Charmy Bee?" Sonic inquired.

"The one and only, Blue." Behind us stood a very different bee than what I remember. He grew, a lot, and no longer wore his helmet, his black wayward hair swayed loosely on his head. His attire was similar to what Silver and Scourge were wearing earlier, only it hung looser and a belt was attached to his waste holding many tools for building.

"Wow, time did you well." I, of course, was the one who responded while Sonic still looked him up and down.

"Thanks Shadow. Being a older is awesome! I don't have to ask Vector or Espio if I can do something!"

With a smirk ever present on my face, I reply, "Oh, who do you ask now?"

"Hey! I listen to no one!"

"Charmy, the teleport room needs modifications."

"On it ma'am." With a salute to Amy, he dashed off to tinker with the teleport room.

"Such innocence is nice to have around here." Amy turned and gazed down at the sick and injured people below us. Sonic followed suit.

"Yeah."

"Anyways, why don't I show you boys to your rooms so you can settle in? You do want to join our fight right?"

"Well, actually Am-" With a rough jab of my elbow, I silenced Sonic.

"We would love to... ma'am."

She looked at us funny. Analyzing Sonic's grunts of pain and my toothy grin. With sceptical eyes, she nodded in unsure approval.

"Oooooookay. Right this way hedgehogs."

She turned heel and rushed away from us. After some whispered bickering, we followed.

We passed several doors that were either rusted, burnt, or cracked. Mobians below started to notice us as hushed voices murmured throughout the bottom level. Amy ceased her pace and turned to fave us.

"Sonic, this one is yours. Don't worry, everything is sanitary and fully functional in there. Shadow, yours is at the end before you turn on the left. The door should have a crack right down the middle. Food is almost ready, join us down stairs when you're ready."

With that the walked back towards the dressing room to change out of her mission clothes. Sonic looked at me with his pleading eyes, the last thing he wanted was to be put in battle with other people and show them just how out of practice he was. My eyes showed a flicker of sympathy for him only to be quickly covered with my natural stern stair. His ears dropped and his eyes lowered before he opened his door and back-tracked inside.

Once the sqeak of his rusted door stopped and a soft thunk was audible, I started the search for my room.

As promised, a large but not deep crack scrapped the front of my door. Mine didn't have a door knob but rather a handle. I pulled it open and my eyes were met with a surprisingly well kept room. The two furniture pieces (a bed and desk complete with a stool) styled the same dark black as their outfits. The room was accented with crimson in various objects around the room. I'm starting to see why it's _my_ room. I stepped in side and noticed the walls were in better shape than the other ones I've seen.

"Cozy."

 _ **Chapter five done! Not much to saw here, hmm... Oh thanks again to all of you either favorite, follow, review or a combination of them. If you haven't already, check out my first crossover! I'm writing it with a friend and fellow fanfic writer. She doesn't have any Sonic the Hedgehog stories but she writes different anime and Maze Runner stories (Maze Runner second franchise in the crossover). Keep reading and chapter six will be up soon I promise.**_


	6. Dinner Conversations

_**Thanks to the 150 of you who had read at least the first chapter, the seven that follow, the five that favorite and the two that reviewed. C'mon 2/150 really? Some people. Anyways, I'm gonna stop doing these A/N unless it's really important or something and just start this count down, or up, thing. There isn't much to do with these things so, yeah...**_

Chapter 6: Dinner

I don't know why but this room reminds me of my old one. But the set up is all wrong. There was no desk, nor stool in the corner. Nor shattered window covered in some sorta wrap. The floor was carpeted to match the theme of the room, not the under belly of what was once tile floors. Blood red drapes secured my privacy and let little light through. The bed was molded with dark oak wood and was twice this one's size. My closet was walk-in and I had my own bathroom. My nightstand is probably what I miss most. It held old photos of Maria and Team Dark, I would constantly look at them in my room so no one would see me smirking the way I did. The best part, it could lock... and my door could too.

I collapsed on my twin sized bed and closed my crimson eyes. Memories of the screams and cries of innocent people were still fresh in my mind. It sounded as if it were taking place right in front of me again. The fire, the crumbling buildings, the blood on the streets and the matching sky. It was still, of course the same red and it was simply there to remind everyone of the piercing shouts that formed from everyone's mouth. As horrifying as that day was, I can't get it out of my head. I miss the house, the club and it's thundering music, I miss my room, my nightstand, my feeling of comfort, I miss Rouge.

She was the one _living_ being who cared enough to help me. She had always been by my side like she promised and I could count on her in a battle. She had her 'fascination' with jewels but that made her unique and in a way improve her combat skills. I miss my friend dearly. I want to go down stairs and see her cooking dinner for us in her trademark _you know you want it_ apron. Her smirk ever present on her face. I want Omega to be waiting on the bench Rouge had brought inside for him making a comment on how superior he was for he did not need nutrients. I want my life back.

I stay reminiscent in the memory until I feel my stomach growl. The thought of food had made me realized I was starving. Pushing through the soreness in my legs, I drift towards the cracked door. My rip-gloved hand push the metal plate on the right side of the door. The smell of warm and ready food hit me like a brick wall. The scent of seasoned turkey, buttered mashed potatoes, cream corn, steamy bread rolls, fried chicken and juicy steak. _Steak._ I remember my first encounter with my now favorite food.

 _Ten Years Ago_

 _"No."_

 _"Why not?"_

 _"I don't want food poisoning."_

 _"It's just steak. It wont kill you I promise."_

 _This argument had been going on for hours. It started when Rouge pulled lumps of raw meat out of the fridge and has continued since she took them off the grill. Now we sat across from each other at our small table. The light wooded furniture barley had room for two people to have there food in front of each other. She had been persuading me to eat the once alive cow for a very long time. Finally I had enough._

 _"You want me to eat the steak?" She nodded enthusiastically. "Fine."_

 _I forcefully shoved the steak in my mouth with a scowl. She leaned in with her trademark smirk. My taste buds bathed in the sensational flavor of the dead cow meat. My eyes widened as it sunk in, I love steak. I really, really love steak._

 _Somehow I had fallen under it's trance as I devoured the remaining steak. To my surprise, Rouge seemed unphased by the demolished meat that was now en route to digestion._

 _"Told you you'd like it, Shadow."_

 _"That's an understatement."_

Present

Majority of my now favorite things I discovered in her household. She wasn't always there but that place meant so much to me. It was the first place I could call home that wasn't haunted by terrible memories. And now it's gone.

I followed the aroma to a room that was located next to the locker room. Inside, Scourge had Fiona on his lap as she fed him food, Silver had an arm stretched over his wife as she ate with her lavender colored head on his grayish shoulder, Charmy tinkered with some parts on the large wooden table that also had the food, Vector was next to him chowing down on anything he could get his hands on, Bunnie and Antoine De'Coolette sat next to each other in deep conversation with Sally Acorn, Amy paced the floor in anticipation of something though I knew not what it was. Bunnie was the first to notice I entered.

"Sugah-hog! Come on in. Don't worry 'bout leaving food, Blue's the only one who ain't had any yet."

Everyone bore warm smiles to me (save for Scourge and Fiona who were... occupied) before returning to their previous activities. The first thing I did was grab four pieces of steak, earning curious glances from Mr. and Mrs. Hedgehog.

"You hungry there Shadow?"

"Silver, if he wants to eat let him eat in piece. So what if that's eating enough meet to build a life size replica of a young child."

"I like steak, sue me." was my humble reply. I also grabbed a scoop of the mashed potatoes and cream corn, foods I remember liking. Then I sat down across from them with Antoine to my left and an empty seat to my right. Most likely Sonic's seat considering every other seat (save for Amy's at the end of the table) was full.

"Where is he? He should be back by now." The fuchsia hedgehog mumbled to herself, however everyone could hear.

I decided to ask a question that's been on my mind since Bunnie spoke. I turned to face her. "When you said everyone, did that include the refugees downstairs?"

"Yes Sugah-hog. They eat first, then the less advanced agents, and then us, the Elite. We believe they need our best care. So they come first, it's the least we can do for everythin' they been through."

I was starting to like the way things worked around here.

"If these are the leftovers... where do you get all this food?"

Silver brought his attention from kissing his wife's forehead to elaborate on the subject. "It's a combination of searching and making. Everyday we send teams out to retrieve any food they can or edable products and we have small farms on the other side of the base for farm floods that no longer get grown. Like these delicious potatoes." He shoved a spoon full of mashed white lumps into his mouth, and moaned in pleasure of the taste.

"As for the meats, that's where the search teams come in. Believe it or not, a lot of wild cows, chickens, turkeys and pigs still roam around freely. _He_ doesn't pay them much attention for some reason." Blaze finished for her husband, who's mouth was occupied at the moment. She just sighed, "so immature."

"Yeah but you know you love it."

"That I do."

They love each other maybe a bit too much I concluded. Most people in the room smiled as they nuzzled their noses together, others were busy doing other things.

"Where is he?" Amy half shouted-half questioned.

"Espio will be back, I know him and he always comes back." Vector reassured finally full after devouring fifty percent of the food.

Charmy put down the wrench he was using to mess with whatever was in front of him. "I don't know, Vec. He's been gone since sunrise."

Amy ceased her pace abruptly turning to us. Her eyes danced with determination. "That's it, I'm gonna-"

She didn't finish her sentence for a purple chameleon appeared in the doorway.

"Hope I'm not interrupting anything important, madam." He gave her a quick, nonchalant salute. After returning it she sat down in her chair.

"Where have you been?"

"My apologies, ma'am. But I found it."

Everyone froze, even Scourge and Fiona looked at him. Then all their eyes slowly shifted to see Amy's next move.

"Where?"

"An abandoned base like this one."

"How far?"

"Three days journey with entire force and supplies, twelve hour with small engagement team and supplies."

"Who..?"

"I didn't venture to look but my readings suggested one low level life force and one high level electric source."

"All in one?"

"All in one."

What on Mobius are they talking about?! Everyone except me seemed to know.

"We send a small advance team tomorrow at dawn lead by you, Espio. Blaze, Silver, Sonic, Shadow and I will follow you there with the needed supplies."

I 'cleared my throat' to signal it was my turn to ask questions. "One; what is going on? Two; what did he find? and Three; ME?"

"I guess an explanation is in order." Espio walked over to explain. "You see Shadow-"

"Techna, Project; Techna." Amy chimed in starring at her empty plate. She raised her green eyes to lock with my crimson ones. "The Perfect Life Form."


	7. The Breifing

**_199 views; 8 follows; 6 favorites; 3 reviews_**

Chapter 7: The Perfect Life Form

We had all moved to a briefing room where a whole bunch technology activated upon our arrival. From the spotless ebony table rose multiple layers of lime green information. A screen dropped behind it and turned itself on displaying more information. Special lights lite the floors from all the floorboards and the edge of the table. There were no chairs so we all had to stand. The entire room was shined to reflect the little light emitted from below. Everything was a deep shade of black, my quills were jealous.

When Silver came in holding Sonic by the ear, Amy finally spoke again.

"Nicole, recap for our new recruits." _Nicole?_ Where have I heard that name?

"With pleasure ma'am." The files on the table started to spin. They moved faster and faster while forming a body. A chocolate brown, black accented, lynx in a purple single strap dress that was longer in the back now stood in their place. That's right, the A.I. that was never too far from the Acorn Princess. "Boys, join me at the board."

With that she nearly glided down, off the table and to the screen. A reluctant Sonic and I followed. Multiple files appeared on the once blank canvas as we walked towards it.

"Project Techna; a mobian that had previous battle experience, exceptional strength in mind, heart and body and had at least one encounter with the Ultimate Life Form. P.T. was captured during the initial attack to be tested. Target mobian was decided before attack. Target mobian was put through immense studies to test; durability, strength, power, intellect and so forth. Tests lasted six years before P.T. went wild and destroyed facility; no survivors. However, target mobian was still infused with Techna Serum to grant great power acceding my own. Created for one purpose alone, to demolish rebel trump card; Ultimate Life Form. Result... Perfect Life Form."

My jaw hung loosely as I heard about just what Project Techna was; my ultimate, or perfect, opponent. The poor mobian was put through six years of tests to simply become my greatest weakness. They suffered because of me. That's one more to the list of many.

"P.T. has been isolated and unapproached by any mobian for four years." She continued. "Only now that Espio has found such remarkably similar readings is there proof of P.T. existing. By many, P.T. was believed to be nothing but a myth set out to discourage The Ultimate Life Form. Now, whoever they are, can be contained and prevented from harming others."

"Wait, you said _contain_ how do we mere mortals contain that? Better yet, explain how we get close to it." Sonic nearly yelled at the electronic words flashing before him.

Everyone turned their attention to the table once again as the top split in half. In its place was a mobian sized tube constructed of what appeared to be two inch thick glass and five inch thick titanium. There was a small control panel attached to the bottom of the over-sized can.

"Light, strong and controllable. This thing will keep P.T. in a coma like state as long as it needs to be. It was modeled after your very own pod that kept you in suspended animation, Shadow." Amy glanced in my direction as she spoke, only to return her attention to the capsule before us. "It works somewhat the same too, only it is built to contain Techna Energy instead of Chaos Energy."

A small compartment opened near the controls with six watch-like objects.

"These will be worn by the few who go to the base. It can temporarily disarm P.T. and render it almost defenseless. You must remember, whoever P.T. is, is still very powerfully with out their enhanced abilities. They will be very weak for a while after the cancellation of their powers but only a short period of time. Be careful." With those final words, Nicole peeled away in bright green pixel-like squares.

Amy grabbed the wrist bands and gave one to Espio, Silver, Blaze, Sonic and myself, before latching the last one on her own wrist.

"Once we have the proper supplies ready, and the newbies get their all-purpose suits, we follow Espio to The Perfect Lifeform."

 ** _A/N_**

 ** _It's short, but the next chapter is expected to be either really long or a multiple parter. Anyways, I was thinking of doing a short little one-shot Christmas special upon one of your requests (no crossovers). Leave a comment with the following information if you would like me to write your story;_**

 ** _Main characters_**

 ** _Couples_**

 ** _Themes_**

 ** _Main plot for beginning_**

 ** _Any OC information (if OC is included)_**

 ** _Thank you, next chapter up soon._**


	8. At Last pt 1: About time!

_**Hey! If anyone noticed, I posted a Christmas one-shot titled Christmas with Team Dark. It has like 2,000 words. And I lied, it's not 2016 yet, but I updated anyways! Okay so anyways, this will have mutliple parts, wether it's two or three I haven't decided, so IT WILL BE A CLIFFHANGER! If you can't stand cliffhangers, then wait for the next chapter to be out and read them at the same time. Really, not that complicated.**_

 _ **GingeOnDaFringe~ you good guesser you. And eh, I'll just do the watching of the pot frequently.**_

 _ **Speaking of which, over 200 people have read at least chapter one and almost 30 have read all the way so far. I understand not everyone checks everyday, but I update quite often.**_

 _ **Now I'll stop the boring stuff and get to what you lifted your finger for:**_

Chapter 8: At Last

Bunnie had escorted Sonic and I to _another_ room full of fabrics of different textures and colors, spun tightly onto rolls that conveniently slide in and out of the walls. The room itself was much brighter than the one we just came from. Maybe it was all the colors or the lack of a huge black table or the higher placed light fixtures... or the giant whole in the wall connecting it to a room blocked by a deep purple, dense curtain. The very back of the room was indented on both sides with two doors on each pushed forward wall.

"Right, so ya'll are goin' on an infiltration mission. That means something flexible, light and easy to move in. I'll do accents later. Maybe... do I still have that one fabric." The part roboticized mobian rambled on to no one in particular.

I kept my face as straight as I could while Sonic had his new signature frown plastered on his tan muzzle. You would think that now, with most his friends back, we would at least smile. But no, no he does not. I am so ready to just smack that pout right off his face.

Mrs. De'Coolette approached us with a sorta scanner in hand. She stood in front of us both and aimed the contraption right at us. In a flash of green light, a grid-like beam grazed the top of my head. The light quickly moved down my features, as well as Sonic's, with the flick of the only female in the room's wrist.

"There, now I know the exact size to sow. Every outfit custom made since I opened shop." She giggled at her last statement. Amusing only herself with her words. I was too caught up in Project Techna and Sonic... well, ya know. Something just didn't sit right with this Perfect Lifeform. I just felt like, we weren't gonna succeed in our mission today. It was a strange feeling for me for I had only felt failure twice in my life. Neither of which I wanted to repeat.

I was brought out of my thoughts when Bunnie came back into the room from behind the dark purple curtain.

"Okay, now y'all need your colors. Sugah-hog, the blue one, why don't you come here? Right next to the blue ones. I need to see which'll be best for you." When he didn't move from his spot, I walked behind him and pushed him to the area designated for blue. "O-okay now, which one matches his quills best?"

She knew something wasn't right with 'Sugah-hog' but chose to ignore it for now. Instead she focused on what blue should be used to identify him.

"Perfect color for me don't you think?" Sonic chuckled catching both Bunnie and I off guard. "Blue; the color of sadness or unhappiness, representing tears and an endless void we call the sky, and not to mention..." He paused to shiver and let out a disgusted sigh "...water."

After speaking, he returned to his unresponsive state of silence. Frowning all the way. Bunnie outstretched a robotic arm and grabbed a roll of fabric right next to Faker's head. It blended so well with his quills I hardly noticed it was there.

"Right, now Shadow, follow me. I know just the color for you." She smiled at me and laid the blue material next to the curtain concealed whole. She lead me to the red section and immediately plucked a silk-like fabric from the wall. It was a deep crimson red. It matched my streaks and eyes perfectly. Although it was a flawless choice, it was easy because their were only ten rolls of red where as for blue, it was nearly half a wall of choices.

"Great, now that I have evrything I need, you two are free to go."

Sonic wasted no time exiting the room. The tan rabbit strolled up to my side still looking at the now open exit.

"What in the world has gotten into that hedgehog?" She asked me -still facing the rusted door.

I started on my way out and stretched my hand out to hold the door. Without looking back at her, I answered the question.

"Ten years of torturous solitude." With that I left, leaving a very shocked tailor in the room behind crumbling wall.

I wanted to stay in my room until it was time to go. But on my way there, a certain fairly young bee stopped me.

"Hey Shadow!" He called. "The love birds could use a hand in packing up food. You willing to help?"

By now he was already two inches from my nose. His eyes bleeding for my assistance.

"Why aren't you helping them?"

"Well, I was. But Ms. Rose needs me in my lab to work on something for her. Vector and Espio are busy helping the refugees, Scourge and Fiona are... uh, busy and Sally and Antoine are helping Nicole with technical stuff. You already now Bunnie is busy and as for Sonic, I have a feeling he won't be very helpful."

I knew he was right. It felt foreign to talk about the blue speedster that way.

"Fine, I'll go help. Where are they?"

"Down the stairs, across the main room, through the green door." After giving me my directions, he hurried down the hall to what could only be the lab.

My eyes scanned the whole floor for a staircase. It was two doors down from my room. My feet started moving without further thought. As I passed Faker's quarters, I heard small whimpers emitting from the room. With a sigh and shake of my head, I continued forward.

Once I was down stairs, I got a good look of the 'main room'. The bottom of walls popped up every now and then, scorch marks littered the grayish floor and you could hardly move because of the amount of people huddled together on the floor.

They all had blankets, sometimes shared with others, most had pillows or rested their heads on someone else's shoulder. Empty plates that once held food were scattered on the floor. There was one clear path through the middle of the room that I traveled down.

As I stepped through the masses of mobians and human alike, they started looking at me. Hushed voices filled the chamber. I chose to simply carry on through and not listen in to their conversations. By now I was used to others whispering behind my back. Vector and Espio noticed me too. Both had stacks of dirty plates in their hands. They paused a moment to find the source of the gossiping refugees and smirked when they made eye contact with me.

Finally, I made it to the green door. Why green though? All the other doors were black or rusted to a reddish brown. My poorly covered hand reached to turn the knob on the door and turned it. When I opened the door, I saw the reason it was a green door.

Inside, there were vines that reached all the way up to the ceiling holding many different colored items up there. Pots of plants lined up in rows filled the floor. It was a green door, for a greenhouse.

At the end of the plant infested space, was Mr. and Mrs. Hedgehog. Silver was using telekinesis to pluck the fruits from the high vines while Blaze kept a bag open for said fruits. The two of them were chatting and laughing softly as they proceeded to fill the bags. They only had two left when the lavender cat tied the one she was holding and placed it next to more complete ones.

"Hey guys. Charmy sent me down here. Need any help?"

Both pairs of hazel eyes locked onto me. They both smiled warmly and Silver came over while Blaze resumed her work.

"Sup, Shadow. Could you pick some things from the pots and put them in that last bag for us?"

I simply nodded and we parted ways. The subtle glow of his powers lit the rather dark area. After retrieving a sack from the pyrotechnic feline, I started grabbing anything that looked ripe. I found carrots, potatoes and other things I recognized, but there were a few strange looking things I chose to put near the bottom.

We finished quickly and huddled in the back checking everything than cleaning them in a surprisingly clean sink with even more surprisingly clean water. There was only one but it was big enough for all three of us to scrub at the same time.

"So." Silver started. "You know our story, what about yours?"

Before I could even open my mouth, his wife jabbed his side with her elbow.

"Silver! That is very rude."

"Sorry Blaze, I guess I'm just curious." He answered with a shrug. Then when her focus went back to the carrot in her hand, his eyes widened and his foot stomped lightly (but forcefully) as he mouthed 'ow' over and over. A small smirk soon appeared on Blaze's face.

"Honestly it's okay Blaze. Compared to the life I had before all this, the last ten years are nothing." I then explained to them everything. And I mean everything. From Rouge's grocery run, to my run away with Faker.

They stopped working and starred at me with wide eyes. They then shared a glance with each other before returning their gazes at me.

"Shadow that sounds awful." Blaze pleaded.

"Yeah. I mean even ten years ago, if someone took Blaze... I-I don't know what I'd do..." Husband and wife both leaned on one another in an attempt to comfort the other.

"I still think it could be worse. I mean, I never found her. That means she's out there somewhere _alive._ Unlike with Maria who I saw get shot and die right in front of me." Purple and silver colored heads nodded in understanding and agreement. "I do however, wonder what happened to Omega."

Before either of them could respond, Espio opened the door.

"You guys ready yet?"

"Yes we are." Silver replied as he put the last fruit in the bag and sealed it closed.

"Good, now all we need is Sonic and we're good to go."

We all stared at each other in silence. Awkward silence. Silver, Blaze and I grabbed the six sacks and headed for the door.

All four of us walked past the recovering crowds to the staircase. We went separate ways at the top. They took the bags of food with them to the locker room. And I went to Sonic's room.

I was shocked when I heard someone shouting. It wasn't Faker, no the voice was too feminine. The shouter was also very strict and demanding. She was, in fact, in the blue hedgehog's quarters yelling until her voice gave up.

'... I used to look up to you, heck, I used to stalk you!' Amy. 'And now look at you! You are nothing right now! No one wants to see their hero like this! Especially not the people downstairs who are probably very confused by the loud voice they are hearing! They need hope Sonic. And you used to be that hope for them. I guess time does make people change.'

Holy crap. It was about time someone told him this. I was actually on my way but Amy beat me to it. She was never far from him was she. I crept closer to the door now that she was down blowing out Sonic's eardrums. What I heard next was even more surprising than loud yelling.

'Thank you... Amy. I-I really needed to hear that. You... *sigh* you're right. I don't know how fast I can run right now, but that doesn't matter. It _never_ mattered. All that _ever_ mattered was how far I went for _them_.'

A creek of metal ment someone had sat up off of a bed and the muffled footsteps signified someone walking. Then, I heard the shuffling of one the hedgehog's limbs wrapping around the other. Judging by the high pitched gasp, it was Sonic who hugged Amy!

The atmosphere suddenly changed. That drab feeling was replaced with a sense of excitement. One could practically feel the smirk returning to the blue blur's muzzle.

"We've got some butt to kick!" Another surprised gasp filled the air. "Please keep all hands and feet from sticking out at all times, and enjoy the ride!"

With that, a combination of pink and blue zoomed past me and took a few laps around the second floor before finally ending in the locker room. But not without an echoing voice saying, "I'm back baby!"

 _ **That was long. I think this is the longest chapter yet! By the way, if you have sent me a PM and I haven't gotten back to you, just know I'm not mean but it was blank. I don't know if it's like an invitation to message back or the system is messing up. If you did have something to tell me through PMing, just leave a review about what it said. Or if you can explain why some are blank, that would be even better.**_

 _ **Part two: The Other Base, will be up soon!**_


	9. Announcement

Hey guys! I got a wattpad account. I'm RedRosesMadeBlack and I posted a story set in medieval times. If you have the app, check me out.

Special thanks to MaxDark158 for the shout out. Check out his/her story Shattered Heart, so far it's awesome!

Thank you guys for favouring, following and reviewing me or my stories. Next chapter will be up soon, I promise.


	10. The Other Base

_**Sorry for the super long wait. I'd tell you guys carp about how busy I have been but I'll just leave it at 'I'm lazy'. Besides, it's not this is the best story you've ever read so... Yeah, here you go!**_

Chapter 9: The Other Base

I still can't comprehend what I heard back at HQ. Amy yelled at Sonic. And now the Faker is prancing around like the idiot he was ten years ago. Unbelievable.

Right now, the six of us selected for the mission were en route to this other abandoned base. Amy and Espio took the lead, followed by Mr. and Mrs. Hedgehog, and lastly Sonic and I behind them. We stayed back for two reasons; one) we couldn't run ahead because we have absolutely no idea where it is we're heading and two) I had a few questions for him.

"So... what did your ex-stalker say to snap you out of it?"

"Too much for me to remember, Shad." He chuckled.

"Really? That nickname?" I asked annoyed.

"What? Would you prefer Shadzter? Or Shad-man? Or Shadarooski? Or maybe-"

"Shadow is just fine." I interrupted. "I'm starting to wish you stayed depressed."

The blue blur smirked, "I for one like to be happy. How much of Amy's rant did you hear anyways?"

"'I used to look up to you' was the first thing I heard I believe." I answered.

"Ha, you only got one tenth of the whole ordeal! She just went on and on! Consider yourself lucky!" He lowered his voice and raised a hand to fumble with one of his triangular ears, "My ears are _still_ ringing."

I chuckled at his statement.

"If you two are done bonding back there," Amy called, "We can head in." She then gestured to a structure towering above the dead trees. Unlike the base we came from, this one was spotless, fully intact and seemed fully functional. After hours of walking here, we find this. Espio checked the readings again and there was only one, P.T.'s.

"Alright, first we split into our groups; Silver and Blaze, Shadow and Espio, and Sonic and myself. I want you two to locate any food or cloth we can take back to HQ," she spoke to the hedgehog and cat pair. "And you two look up anything you can on Project Techna so we have a better idea on how to handle it," she ordered Espio and me. "All while Sonic and I located it and once we do we will contact all of you to come and meet us. We clear?"

"Yes ma'am." We all replied in unison. Some of us being my serious than others (I think you can guess who did a mock salute).

Espio passed the life-scanner-thingy to Amy while the married couple was already in pursuit. Joining Amy's side, Sonic dashed towards the base with the pink furred hedgehog in his arms. Espio walked to face me. He wordlessly asked if I was ready to go, to which I responded with a nod of my head.

Once we were in the base, I could tell it was well kept. Whoever, or whatever, lived here took good care of the place. You could see your own reflection in the white walls and the lights shined bright enough to reflect off the floor back to the ceiling. I felt bad for walking in here with dirt on my shoes. The silence was deafening while the feeling we were being watched loomed in the air.

I looked over to my partner, noticing his relaxed state. He strayed away from the walls that he used to be attached to, his arms hung limb swaying side to side and his poster was slightly forward. We wandered the halls, not exactly not knowing the destination. Suddenly, I hear him chuckle.

"What?" I query.

"Nothing, nothing. I just thought... nah it's stupid." He stammered.

"Come on Espio, just tell me. The silence here is unnerving."

"Fine. Don't you find it a little funny, Madam Rose sent _us_ to find the computer room?" He smirked.

"Huh, I guess that is what were doing. What I think is funny is that after ten years... there is still one to find."

He laugh for a little while I softly chuckle. It feels good to be around people after ten years of nothing but black. I was always warned I'd regret staying away from people.

Suddenly, a door opened. The swoosh sound it made when it slid flooded my ears. On the right, towards the end of the hallway, was the new accessible room.

"Keep your guard up." I warned. With that, we cautiously walked inside.

Yellowish light shined behind us in a dragged out form of the doorway. The chamber was large. Many ledges and catwalks lines the pure whit ceilings. File cabinets and desks set in rows filled empty gaps. Ivory tiled floors reflected the only light source in the dark room; a computer screen.

Once we stood in front of the massive device, a loud thump signaled the closing of the doors.

"So much for that exit." The purple chamelion next to me spoke sarcastically. "I'll find an alternate exit while you find out whatever you can about Project Techna."

I nodded in agreement and watched as he scaled a glossy wall to the catwalks. I began my quest for information. Oddly enough, I didn't need to enter a password, someone was already logged on. Disregarding any fear, I continued on.

When I typed in 'Project Techna', millions of files popped up. Assessments, criteria, health... and then I found one that read _Subject_ _Personal Information._ Interested, a clicked on it.

 _Subject: Project Techna_

 _Picked up: 274 Nille Way_

 _Location: Laboratory Unit 255_

 _Head Researchers: I-437, I-957, I-226, Prower_

 _Sex: Female_

 _Health: Exolent_

 _Exposure to ULF: Almost daily_

 _Previous Training: Occupation_

 _Name:..._

That's odd. No name. ULF? Or, me. Almost daily? Her training was her job? Project Techna is a GIRL!

No, oh no no no no no. I needed no name to know who it is now. Of course, how could I have been so blind!? The only people I hung out with nearly everyday were my teammates, and only one of them is female.

"Rose, come in Rose. Sonic, you there? Blaze? Silver?" No one was responding on the wrist communicator. "Espio!" I yelled. No response.

Before I could think of what to do next, a hand grabbed my shoulder and something cold and sharp was pressed against my neck.

"Don't move."


	11. Long Time No See

**_Hi. Not dead. And story time!_**

Chapter 11: Long Time No See

Female, definitely a girl. Around the age of eighteen. Her voice was soft yet held a presence of dominance. She was well built and had a strong grip. With her right arm she kept my forearm in place and maintaining a tight hold on the knife pressed against my throat. The other arm secured mine behind my back. I could take her easy, if it weren't for the cool metal blade so close to my throat that it's already penetrating my first layer of skin.

I'm not quite sure what I was expecting, any distraction would do, so without thinking I pressed down on the closest button with my free hand.

The next thing I knew the hands that locked around the knife and my left arm fled, the girl backed away and the clinging sound of metal hitting the tile floors sounded next to my feet. Perfect distraction, had it not affected me as well.

It was a scream. A shrilling, high-pitched squeal like someone had just lost a limb. It dragged on endlessly causing both my assailant and I to cover our ears. She acted quickly and lowered the volume with her elbow, her hands were occupied, to stop the awful noise.

"Why on Mobius would you press that button?" Her voice reduced to a low whisper as she recovered from the screaming. Upon closer inspection, I noticed the long ears trailing down behind her head. Like me she was nearly covered in a black outfit that hugged close to her body. Tanish fur stuck out near her boots, gloves and eyes. Her eyes, though a usually inviting color, were sharp. It was like you could be starring at this girl in an alley, see something shiny flying at you, then all you'd see is the night sky and the dagger sticking out of your forehead.

Before I could answer, another voice spoke.

"An ambitious project don't you think?"

"Yes, but the end result will be worth it."

I had pressed a video file. A window is shown, through the window is a bunch of white hazmat suits surrounding what can only be assumed as a table. The two voices had no faces.

"And you're sure this thing will take down _the_ Ultimate Lifeform?"

"No doubt."

Another scream. The table legs shift right

"What's happening?"

"The project is simply going through one of her daily procedures."

Another, this one followed by a few sobs.

"Do you think with all these advancements and improvements it could betray us and eventually destroy the empire."

"I've considered that possibility. Before all is said and done, something will be taken from her so that she will depend on us. A cure will also be kept under lock and key as to bribe her with."

"You speak of it with a great passion, how do I know you're not using it to take the empire for your own?"

"I simply carry out his orders. I was just fortunate enough to work with her."

Crying. Cries of pain and longing. Longing to be free from the torture.

"I expect great things from it."

"She won't disappoint."

The video ends.

"What horrible people." Knife Girl speaks next to me. "How can anyone be so cruel?" Her voice was reduced to a whisper. It was soft, sweet and filled with emotions. Poor thing probably doesn't understand the full extent of that. I on the other hand, do. I know exactly who was on that table. It hurt, really bad.

"You still gonna kill me?" I finally spoke, trying my best to stay composed. She seemed startled like she hadn't been expecting me to sound the way I do. Maybe she was just shocked by the question?

"You sound awfully familiar." In all honesty, she sounded familiar to me too. With ten years gone by, its hard to tell anymore. "Do I know you?"

"Well, if you think you know me from the past ten years, I'm not the guy. Even before than I hardly socialized."

Her eyes widened, realization ever present in them, "No way. It can't be! Mr. Shadow is that really you?"

My god. The long ears, chocolate eyes, tan fur, soft voice and the 'Mr'. "Cream?"

She removed the masked to reveal her face. It was infact the once angelic rabbit. Now she was stronger, more courageous looking than the seemingly harmless rabbit girl she was before. She had aged very well.

Feeling I was no longer in harms way with her, I removed my mask as well. My quills popped out and the tension they held against my head was released.

"Long time no see huh?" She smiled.

Before I could respond, a blinking light caught my attention. It looked like another video file. I don't think either one of us could handle more of those.

"Cream," I spoke up. "Could you do me the favor of helping to locate the mobians I came with?"

"Right! You weren't the only one. I suppose they're conscious now?"

"What?"

"Well, long story short, I treated them the same way I treat other intruders." She put her mask back on and walked out of the computer room.

We walked a ways through the crisp clean base. She lead me through many rooms. Some looked like computer rooms, some like surveillance areas and others looked horrifyingly like torture chambers. When she unlocked the last door, five tied up figures squirmed within the newly presented light. Once they saw me they relaxed. Cream moved to untie them, but they backed away defensively.

"Maybe if they saw your face?" She nodded and removed the off black fabric from her face. Muffled gasps and calls of her name filled the silent halls.

Once they were all untied, Amy nearly tackled Cream.

"I was so worried about you! I thought they had taken you and-"

"They did." We all gave the rabbit curious looks. After a soft sigh, she explained. "I was one of the less fortunate ones who were captured and brought to a slave city. Horrid place. The things in black cloaks ordered us around, made decisions for us. It was a lousy way to live. Couldn't talk, couldn't whine, couldn't sleep without permission. Absolutely awful. I would've crumbled into a ball and cried all the time if my mother wasn't with me. About four years ago, a trade was being made. Every now and then slave cities would exchange slaves for some reason. They'd be escorted through the wasteland from city to city, resting at camps every so often. I was one of the chosen slaves for exchange, my mom wasn't. She was only defending me." Salty tears fell to the floor making small puddles. Amy comforted her. Cream let out a shaky sigh. "Anyways, after many days of travel we found this place. It looked safe to rest in. We wandered the halls in one group, looking for any food or water or blankets. Instead, we were ambushed. The Cloaks fell first, the rest of us were in such a state of shock we ran. We all went our separate ways. I remember looking back for a second, then running into her. She told me not to be afraid, that she wouldn't hurt me unless a gave her good reason to. She has fed me, trained me and protected me. Like a had found a new mother to cling to."

"She being Project Techna?" Rose asked the rabbit in her arms. I was wondering the same thing actually. If what Cream says is true, she's in here somewhere.

"Project Techna? No, I'm talking about-"She was cut off. The lights had gone out. Darkness. God I hated the dark. Then the air chilled. Low, laughter echoed through the vacant halls.

"Welcome, can I just say it's an honor to house the little rascals that think they can take down the government." It was as quiet as a whisper, but we all listened intently.

"Come out and face us. We just might surprise you!" Amy yelled in retort. The rest of her rebels got in fighting stances keeping their hands close to their weapons.

"Oh a feisty one, huh? You remind me of a girl I once knew."

"Yeah? Who?" Her voice demanded an answer. Out of the darkness, a pair of poison green eyes illuminated themselves in the blackness.

"Let's just call her an old rival." P.T.'s body moved to strike but no impact was made. Cream had latched onto her.

"Wait you don't know what you're doing!" She pleaded.

"I know full well what I-"

Many things happened at once. Light returned (much to my relief), the base went from looking brand new to in worse shape than ours, someone screamed, a loud thud was heard five feet away from me and Amy lowered her arm with the band on her wrist glowing green. She disarmed P.T. and knocked her out in the process. There, on the scorched ground in front of us, was the alleged Perfect Lifeform. There was only one thing I could say.

"Rouge..."

 _ **Pretty sure most of you saw that coming. Originally I was going to let it be just Rouge at the base but then I thought, "Hey! Why not give another character a tragic story on how they were affected by the take over. So I snuck little Cream in there. So now Rouge is a motherly figure to her and they've bonded well over the past few years. As for other characters, they will be showing up. Some have already been mentioned and others you probably think I've completely forgot about. I haven't. You'll just have to see where they ended up in later chapters.**_

 _ **Big apology for not updating sooner, I'd give an excuse but you all could really careless couldn't you. Because it's summer, hopefully I'll be able to update often. Until next time, I hope this chapter can keep your guys' faith in this story.**_


	12. Project Techna

Chapter 12: Project Techna

They won't let me see her. Ten years I've waited to see her again, and Rose still won't let me see her. No one's aloud to tell me anything either. I'm completely in the dark, and I hate the dark.

When we got back, she was placed in the most secure room in this crumbling building. The one with capsule wasn't strong enough to hold the power so it was divided among the six and Nicole's vast system. The AI has been analyzing all the new data presented to her. I'm aloud to know about her findings, but nothing more.

Right now I'm in my room. The bed is stiff and uncomfortable, but I can't find the will to stand. I find myself reliving memories and her. Good and Bad. Space Colony ARK to Team Dark's house. With others and alone. Daytime or nighttime. Every last second resurfacing. My red eyes are still open, making sure the lights stay on. Every time they flicker, I flinch. A knock on my door snaps me out of my daze. The copper colored rust is replaced with pink fur.

"Amy." I nod in recognition.

"Shadow." She responds just as emotionless. It's truly amazing how much she's changed. Her presence isn't that of a chirpy child, but that of a superior. She carries herself with more dignity and pride. She demands respect without even parting her lips.

"I honestly wasn't expecting a visit from you. Sonic? Sure, in fact he drops in every now and then to make sure I'm not dead."

"Sounds like something He'd do."

Silence hangs in the air as she just stands in the door way and I stay on my bed. My gaze locked onto the cracked ceiling, her's most likely on me. I hear her finally step inside and close the door. The stool close to my bed creaks, her commanding demeanor has dropped. She's talking to a friend again.

"I know how hard all this must be. Seeing her as the one who's suppose to take you down." Amy sighs. "I really shouldn't be doing this."

"Doing what?"

She doesn't answer me, instead she looks me dead in the eye. She's thinking, debating. Whatever it is, Amy's torn. Finally her green eyes retreat.

"She hasn't said or done anything. Even her eyes have yet to open. We know she's awake, but she simply won't respond to anything we do. If she won't even turn to look at us, there's no way she can recognize us. Our voices are too contorted by the speakers. So, against my better judgement, I'm sending you in."

"Don't get me wrong, I want to see her, but why not send in Cream? Those two have spent the past years together and by the way Cream paces anxiously around the halls, they've grown rather close."

"If Techna gets hostile, I want Cream far away from her." I cringed when Rose said 'Techna' instead of her name.

"Fine, I'll go in." I rose from my bed. "And her name isn't Techna, it's Rouge."

I left the door open, but she stayed as I walked away. I could care less. Right now I have one thing on my mind, and she's waiting for me.

As I neared the room, I believe her name is Sally Acorn, stopped me.

"She's unresponsive and doesn't move. I know how close you two were, Sonic and Ms. Rose briefed us all, but I encourage you to take a logical approach with this." She spoke in a tone that held years of knowledge behind it. Is she the one who lead the famous Freedom Fighters? If so, Amy must have her in an important position.

"Are you the second in command?"

"Yes," Sally smiled. "Though I mainly stay here. I'm more of the brains then a fighter now a days. Ms. Rose refers to me often for my experience in leading the Freedom Fighters, but I don't think my body can go back in action after doing nothing for twenty years."

"Twenty?"

"Yeah, after the Freedom Fighter's battles ended, I went straight to ruling. A queen doesn't do much fighting, and with Sonic and you guys fighting I never thought I'd need to again. Once everything stopped exploding, my ex-Freedom Fighters and I went to find Sonic. Instead we came across Ms. Rose and well... you can figure out the rest. Good luck in there, we're all rooting for you." With a reassuring smile, she strutted past me to what I remember being the room Nicole is in.

A breath for composure, a twitch in my hand to rid the nerves and I pushed open a door in much better condition then mine. Once I was in, I closed the door behind me. The room had sustained some damage, but compared to others I've seen it was in great condition. Tile floors cracked every now and then, stable lights hanging above me, a small console with few buttons taking the center of the room, and a thick glass wall with a white bat behind it. She sat dead center with her back turned to me, her wings sagged to the floor and her off black, sparkle covered dress fanning out underneath her. Her ears flat against her head, a sign of depression, and her gloved arms wrapped around her tucked in knees. I've seen her in this position only once before, and in her defense it was thirty degrees below zero in the South Pole and she was only in her catsuit.

I remember that night perfectly. We had just finished a mission, earlier than expected, so our ride was 16 hours away. She had found a cave in the side of the mountain, we started a fire for warmth. Being the hybrid I am the cold had little effect on me but Rouge, she might as well have been a chunk of ice. It was towards the beginning of our friendship and I still hated interacting with other forms of life, but that night, I kept her warm.

And today I was going to comfort her again.

Without second thought, I moved to the console. A button labeled 'intercom' caught my attention.

"Hi there." I spoke. Rouge's ears perked up instantly, however that was the only movement. "Are you cold?"

Silence.

"Look, I know this is new and unfamiliar but all we need is for you to show us a sign you understand us."

Nothing.

"I'll start off easy. I'm going to ask you a set of questions and all you have to do is shake your head 'yes' or 'no'. Do you know where you are?"

A long stretch of quiet passed. I thought she'd completely ignore me, then she shook her head; 'no'.

"Okay, you're with the Resistance. We fight against the ones who made you this way. We are a family, do not hurt anyone in this family or you will suffer consequences. On the first floor of our HQ are refugees, innocent humans and mobians who's lives were destroyed by the takeover. Now, do you remember how you got here?"

'Yes'.

"Good. So you remember having your abilities stripped?"

'Yes'.

"Do you, by any chance, know who you were before becoming Project Techna?" I prayed to God she would move her head up and down, but she didn't.

Instead, she spoke.

"Rouge the Bat. GUN agent, treasure hunter, and club owner. What you don't understand, mister, is that I'm still her." Even though I was hearing it through the static of speakers, her deeper, pain filled voice was the best thing I've heard in ten years.

"No, I understand perfectly. Rouge," her head shot up. "Please look at me."

"I can't."

"All you have to do is turn around."

"No, it's not that simple anymore." Broken. Utterly and completely beaten is how her voice came out. Had my eyes have been any less accurate, I might have missed the tear fall onto the tinted white floor.

 _'Something will be taken from her so she will rely on us.'_

"You're blind?"

No response.

"Turn around, I need to know."

"Why do you care? Why would anyone care about a monster like me! I blew up the base I was held at! I can't be around others! I'm a danger to everyone near me! Why do you care?" And then, the armor she had shielded herself with crumbled. Tears fell like never before. She squished her head into her knees again. This situation was all too familiar.

 _"Look at me! Look at what I've done! Why on Mobius do you care for me?"_

 _ **"Because if I won't, who will?"**_

The crying stopped. Her head raised once more. Deep purple gloves found their way to the floor. Slowly, she stood up. Almost pitch black wings got back their bones as they stiffened and rested in their natural position. Messy white hair cascaded down her back and ended at her waist. Her single-strapped dress flowed past her feet and spread out like as puddle beneath her. Perfectly fit, showing off every curve and matching the long purple and sparkly gloves covering majority of her arms. It closely resembled the night sky, perfectly suited for a bat, and highlighted her pure white hair. She turned to face me, purple eye shadow slowly lifting. Her eyes used to be a brilliant blue-green, they used changed depending on her mood or the lighting. Now, a dull grey clashed with my lively red irises. With moisture streaking down her muzzle and onto the floor, I saw recognition in her sightless eyes.

"Shadow." She whispered.

"Hey, Batgirl." Once again, the gates flooded and her tears fell. Her forehead and hands pressed against the glass. It wasn't silent no, she was loud and she didn't care. She needed me. After all those years of her helping me cope, it was my turn to help her.

I raised the glass with the push of a button and she collapsed onto the cracked tile. My feet rushed to pick her up, she crashed into my arms while locking her's around me. All I could hear was her crying, and it reassured me.

 _"I'm not like you! I *sniffle* I'm a monster!_

 _"No you're not, don't ever say that! Do you know how I now?" Knees hit wood floors. "You have emotions, real true emotions. And you have shown me countless times you care. And even now, With how close we are, I can feel your heartbeat. You're no monster, Shadow. You're a confused hedgehog who has made bad choices, but everyone has. Granted most haven't threatened the world, but we learn from our mistakes. And the bigger the mistake, the bigger the lesson. You're still learning and you can't continue to if you view yourself that way. If you ever, and I mean ever think this way, know that at least one person thinks you're not a weapon. You're a shield and you protect what you care about. So quit doubting yourself and get some rest."_

"You're not a monster, nor are you what those idiots thought they could make. You're Rouge the Bat and if you need me, I'm right here."

 _ **So yeah, Sally is like second in command and a personal consult for Amy. Rouge was finally able to let everything out, Shadow was finally allowed to see her again and I'm finally done with this chapter. Next one will be up soon, at least I hope.**_


End file.
